


I've Given All My Love To You

by Kats_watermelon



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/M, it's a time jump fic because i'm dying, none of this will be canon and i cry thinking about that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-30
Updated: 2017-07-24
Packaged: 2018-11-06 07:02:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11031072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kats_watermelon/pseuds/Kats_watermelon
Summary: As weeks on the Ark go by, Murphy and Emori's lives change more and more.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Memori Day! (i know it's memorial day in the us but it's memori day shhh)
> 
> Since this hiatus is just getting started, i might as well get ahead of the curve and start popping out memori fics here we go
> 
> (title from [The Rain](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1REcpWKMQ4) by Oh Wonder)

**1 week in space**

Murphy wandered around the halls, searching for Emori. He finally found her standing in front of a window, staring down at the planet. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"You always said the Earth looked green from space," she said softly. 

"It used to," Murphy said, his eyes locked on the flaming planet. "I guess a wave of death kills the green."

"I guess."

She was silent after that, her hands resting over his. 

"I miss the trees," she finally said. "And the quiet."

Murphy missed the trees too. The machine hum he could get used to, after seventeen years of it. But he missed the fresh air. He missed the rustle of animals. 

"Do you think the Earth misses its people?" she asked. Murphy sighed, turning his face into her neck.

"I don't think the Earth ever gave a shit about its people," he said. "The only good thing it ever gave me was you."

She smiled, turning in his arms so that she could wrap her arms around his neck.

"You're a hopeless romantic," she said, working the words around her mouth. Murphy cocked his head.

"Where did you learn that phrase?"

"Monty called you that."

Murphy laughed.

"Of course he did."

He leaned in to press a soft kiss to her lips. 

"You'll get used to it up here," he said. She sighed, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I hope so."

* * *

**3 weeks in space**

Emori spent most of her time wandering the halls of the Ark with John. There was so much to get used to - the constant sound of a machine hum, the dull lack of colors, the virtually tasteless food. She felt tired all the time, something John guessed was her body adjusting to space. He was born there and comfortable almost immediately, a fact Emori was immensely jealous of. 

She was exploring one day when they ran into Echo, watching the Earth below them with tear tracks on her cheeks. Emori let go of John's hand and stood by the other Grounder woman. She didn't say anything for a minute, letting the Azgeda warrior adjust to her presence. Emori could tell that she made Echo vaguely uncomfortable.

" _I miss the Earth_ ," Echo finally said in Trigedaslang. " _I miss the mountains and the snow. Now there's only fire._ "

" _I miss it too,_ " Emori replied. " _I miss the trees, and the water, and the wind. I miss the air._ "

" _It was so much cleaner there._ "

" _It was._ "

Echo was silent for another minute.

" _I was cast out of my clan,_ " she said softly. " _Roan banished me._ "

" _I know how that is,_ " Emori said, tucking her left hand under her arm. She felt Echo's eyes track the movement.

" _How did you handle it, all those years_?" 

" _I wanted to survive. I did everything I could to do that._ "

" _And that's why you're here_?"

" _Yes. We were safe in the bunker, but when they were going to cut it down to only 100 Skaikru, John and I had to find another option._ "

Echo glanced back at John, who seemed to recognize that his name had been said. He still didn't know a word of Trigedaslang, save the phrase Luna had taught him and a couple that Emori had. 

" _You were in the bunker_?"

" _For a little while. We knew we wouldn't be given spots with Skaikru, so we were going to stay in the bunker on the island._ "

" _And now you're in space_."

Emori nodded.

" _It's a strange twist of fate, isn't it?_ "

" _A cruel one._ "

Emori shrugged, stepping back.

" _You know where to find me if you want to talk._ "

She was beginning to walk away when Echo spoke again.

"Thank you."

* * *

**6 weeks in space**

Murphy woke up to the sound of Emori retching. He shot to his feet, sprinting for the tiny bathroom in the apartment they shared. She was heaving into the toilet. He pulled her hair back and rubbed her shoulders.

"Are you okay?" he demanded, worry lacing through his blood. She nodded weakly. 

"I'm fine, just a little nauseous."

She was cut off by another wave of retching despite her stomach having nothing more to give. Murphy kept her hair up and away, worried. If Clarke was there, she'd know what to do. She'd take one look at Emori and know exactly what was wrong.

But Clarke was dead.

He waited until Emori was finished before grabbing a towel off the sink and wiping her mouth. She was too tired to stand on her own, so he carefully picked her up and set her on the bed.

"I'll be back in a minute," he said. "I'm going to go get-"

He hesitated. Who would know what to do? The closest thing Murphy knew about sickness was the time he had the flu as a kid, and he didn't like to think about that. He finally settled on Monty. 

"I'm going to go get Monty," he said. He gave her a quick kiss on the forehead and hurried out of the apartment, jogging towards the Earth Monitoring Center, where Monty and Raven were most days, if they weren't at the algae farm. He lucked out. They were sitting in front of one of the control panels, murmuring with their heads together.

"Hey," he said. "Sorry to interrupt, but I think Emori's sick."

"Ask Clarke-"

The air temperature dropped about four degrees. Monty shut his mouth, swallowing hard and standing.

"I'll come take a look at her."

Murphy jogged back towards their apartment, fear taking root. What if it was the flu? What if it was radiation sickness, taking it's sweet-ass time to kill her after she'd been exposed? What if it was a long-hidden disease in the Ark, one that Ark-born people were immune to -

"John, I feel fine," Emori insisted, seeing Monty standing in the doorway. "It was just a momentary thing."

"Just in case," Murphy said, moving to sit by her side. Monty felt Emori's forehead and checked her pulse. 

"She feels fine. She's probably just not reacting well to the new diet."

Murphy nodded, taking Emori's hand.

"Will it pass?"

"Probably," Monty said with a shrug. "I'm not a doctor, so I don't know for sure, but I don't think it's anything serious. She'd have other symptoms if it was. Obviously keep an eye on her and let us all know if it gets worse."

Murphy nodded. Monty left and Emori huffed.

"Really, I'm fine."

"I don't want to risk you not being fine," Murphy said, brushing a strand of hair off her forehead. "We made it to space. I can't.... I can't let you go now."

Emori smiled, cupping his face in her hands.

"You won't have to."

* * *

**14 weeks in space**

Emori knocked frantically on Harper's door. She knew Monty was at the farm and John was fast asleep. Harper opened up after a minute, her eyes bleary.

"Emori?"

The other's girl's eyes widened when she saw the tears running down Emori's face and she opened the door a little wider. Emori stepped inside, wrapping her arms around herself and trying to breathe.

"What's going on?" Harper asked.

"I'm so scared," Emori said. She gestured vaguely at her stomach, beginning to babble. "First I was throwing up and feeling tired and John said I was just adjusting, that it would go away, but now I'm gaining weight and I haven't bled in weeks and-"

"Emori, slow down," Harper said, setting her hands on Emori's arms. "What do you think is going on?"

"I don't know the word in English," Emori said. She gestured at her stomach again. "It's - it's - it's a  _child_ , I'm scared that it's a child-"

"You think you're pregnant?"

Emori just stared hopelessly at Harper, who seemed to understand that the word was meaningless to Emori.

"You think there's a child growing inside of you?"

" _Yes_ , and I can't - what if - and John-"

"Okay," Harper said, rubbing Emori's arms gently. "Okay, we're going to figure this out. How long have you been having these symptoms?"

Emori tried to think. 

"I can't remember. I started throwing up after we'd been here six weeks."

"Okay, so morning sickness usually starts after about a month. So that puts you somewhere around twelve weeks, or three months."

"Three months?"

"Three months," Harper confirmed. "That's just an estimate. What do you want to do now? Are you going to tell Murphy?"

"How?" Emori demanded. "How am I supposed to tell him that there's a  _person_ inside me, that they might be just like me, they might be a frikdreina, how am I supposed to tell him how scared I am, how am I-"

"Okay, okay, calm down," Harper said. "Let's talk through this."

Emori tried to keep her breathing steady. Harper led her to the bed and sat her down.

"What do you want to do?" she asked gently. Emori shook her head.

"I don't know, I don't know what to do."

"Okay, we'll start out simple. Monty and Raven are in charge of the farm. You'll want to talk to them about your condition. You're eating for two now."

Emori nodded. She could do this. She could do this. 

"Next you want to talk to Murphy. I'm guessing the baby's his."

_Whose else would it be?_

"What do I say?"

"You know the word in English now," Harper said helpfully. "If you don't know what to say, try just saying that and let him work out the rest. He's smarter than he looks. He'll know."

Emori nodded, subconsciously rubbing her left hand with her right. Harper caught the movement.

"You're still scared," she guessed. Emori nodded.

"There's a reason frikdreina are left out to die," she said quietly. "We're seen as a stain on the bloodline. What if - what if our  _child_ -"

"We'll burn that bridge if we get to it," Harper said. Emori frowned.

"We shouldn't burn anything. Raven said that would use up too much oxygen-"

"It's a figure of speech," Harper said quickly. "It means we'll worry about it if it happens instead of right now. Are you okay now?"

"I think so," Emori said. She stood shakily. "I'm going to talk to John."

"Who- oh, Murphy. Okay. Come back here if you need anything."

Emori stared down at the floor. 

"Thank you."

She left, walking slowly towards the apartment she and John shared and thinking. What was she going to say? How was she going to explain herself? 

She was at the door before she was ready. She inhaled slowly and opened it. John was sitting at the kitchen table, pulling his boots on. He looked up when she opened the door and smiled.

"Hey. I was just going to look for you."

Emori burst into tears. 

"Hey, hey," John said, shooting to his feet. He was at her side in an instant, pulling her into a tight hug. "What's wrong?"

Emori shook her head. She couldn't get the words out and she couldn't remember how to say it in English and everything was falling apart-

John seemed to understand that she couldn't speak and just held on tight. They stayed like that until Emori calmed enough to find the words. She explained what she'd told Harper to him and gestured at her belly, trying to remember the word.

"I can't... I can't remember the word in English-"

She realized after a second that John was staring down at her with a mixture of shock and happiness.

"You think... you think you're pregnant?" he whispered. Emori nodded.

"Yes, that's the word in English-"

He yanked her into another tight hug, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

"You're - oh my god."

Emori shut her eyes, resting her head on his shoulder. 

Everything was going to be okay.

* * *

**22 weeks in space**

Murphy found a hidden nook in one of the apartments with children's books tucked away. He brought them back to their apartment, and, much to Emori's exasperation, read them to her growing belly. He insisted that the baby needed to hear both of their voices, and when Emori shyly admitted that she couldn't read, he began to teach her. Harper stopped by with books that she found (the ones that Bellamy hadn't already squirreled away). Bellamy was the only one on the ship that knew anything about pregnancy and helped as much as he could, but even his knowledge was limited. Monty offered to dig around the archives to see if there was anything helpful there. Raven built a crib out of scrap metal with sanded edges. Even Echo stopped by at one point, quietly explaining to Emori the Azgeda traditions for pregnancy.

Murphy didn't tell Emori, but he began to slip half of his rations into her food. He wasn't sure if she noticed, but she never confronted him about it. 

He could tell that Emori was beginning to get frustrated with the new limitations placed on her. She couldn't bend over as much, she couldn't lift things, she couldn't strain herself. For someone who had been agile and mobile for most of her life, that had to be irritating.

They were lying in bed, Murphy reading to Emori's belly, when she said, "What will we name them?"

Murphy set the book down, propping himself up on his elbows.

"I don't know. What do you think we should name them?"

"I don't know," Emori said. "I don't exactly have a lot of experience with children."

"Neither do I," Murphy said. He leaned over Emori and grabbed the stack of books that Harper had brought them. He could have sworn there was a name dictionary in there somewhere. Emori picked up one of the thicker books, squinting at the cover.

"H-Har-Harry. Harry Pa- no, Pot-Potter. Harry Potter? What the hell is a Harry Potter?"

Murphy laughed, taking the book from her and flipping it over. It was the first one, thank God. He made a mental note to read it to her and the baby later.

"Harry Potter is a name. It was a popular book series a long time ago."

"What a strange name."

Murphy found the name dictionary and scooted to the head of the bed so that he was sitting next to Emori. He flicked the worn book open, flipping through the pages.

"Why don't you pick out five?" he said. He handed her the book. "It's in alphabetical order."

Emori turned the page carefully, as if it would crumble to dust if she was too careless. Murphy watched her search through the book for a few minutes, smiling at the little frown that developed every time she came across something that confused her. She was a fast learner, but still couldn't read all that well.

"This one," she finally said, pointing at a name in the book. Murphy peered over her shoulder. "I like the way this one looks."

"Iko?" he said. Emori brightened.

"Yes, that one definitely. What does it mean?"

Murphy squinted at the small text next to the name.

"Rare," he read. Emori snorted.

"Fitting name."

"It's perfect," Murphy said, kissing the side of her head. He set a hand on her stomach and grinned. "Iko."

* * *

**30 weeks in space**

Murphy was wandering around, thinking about how the hell they were going to get their child to the ground, when he ran across Bellamy standing at one of the windows. He stopped. Bellamy was staring down at the Earth, still orange with fire.

"It's been months," Bellamy said. "If Clarke was alive, she would have contacted us by now."

Murphy nodded, sticking his hands in his pockets.

"She would have."

"I wish she was here," Bellamy said softly. "She'd know what to do about Emori, and how to handle all of us being stuck up here for five years."

Murphy stared down at the planet.

"I'm sorry," he finally said. "I know she meant a lot to you."

"Don't you miss her too?" Bellamy asked. Murphy snorted.

"Well, she did leave me in Polis to die and then nearly killed Emori and hasn't apologized once."

Bellamy shot him a look and he drooped a little.

"Yeah, I guess I miss her sometimes."

The two of them stood there in silence, watching the fiery Earth spin below them.

* * *

**34 weeks in space**

Emori went into labor a month early, screaming and crying from the pain in the middle of the night. Murphy fell out of bed, shouting for Bellamy. Harper arrived first with towels, then Raven to hang onto Emori's right hand while Murphy clutched the left. Echo arrived and started chanting in the corner in Trigedaslang, though Murphy couldn't imagine how the hell that was supposed to be helpful. Monty and Bellamy showed up last. Bellamy immediately started talking Emori through the process, telling her what was going on and what to do. Murphy pushed her hair off her forehead and murmured in her ear, squeezing her left hand and telling her about all the things they were going to do when it was over. They were going to teach the baby how to read, how to walk, how to speak. They were going to curl up in bed and finally finish reading Harry Potter. He was finally going to learn Trigedaslang. They were going to watch the Earth heal. They were going to go back to Earth and introduce this new person, this beautiful human being to the planet where its parents fell in love.

Hours and hours seemed to pass in an instant. Bellamy was suddenly shouting, "Last one, come on!" and Emori had a death grip on Murphy's hand and he was praying to every god from human history that this went well, that she survived, that she was okay-

Silence.

Murphy looked down. Bellamy was holding the baby. She was so small. 

And silent.

Babies were supposed to cry. 

Tears burned behind Murphy's eyes and he tucked Emori's hair behind her ear, fighting them.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "What's happened?"

A quiet cry pierced the roar in Murphy's ears. He nearly sobbed in relief. The baby was crying, her little arms waving in the air. Murphy grinned, kissing Emori's forehead.

"It's a girl," he said. "It's Iko."

Emori sobbed once. She squeezed her eyes shut.

"Is she-" She choked on her tears. "Is she like me?"

Murphy took the baby from Bellamy, cradling her gently. 

"Yeah," he said. Emori sobbed again, turning her head away from him. "Yeah, she's beautiful."

Two arms, two legs, two hands, ten fingers and toes, eyes like her mother. Bellamy cut the umbilical cord somewhere behind Murphy, but Murphy's eyes were on his daughter. Emori turned her head towards the two of them, opening her eyes. Murphy looked up at her, grinning. Emori reached up and took Iko from him, cradling her against her chest. She sobbed again.

"She's perfect," she whispered. She laughed, curling over their baby. "She's perfect."

Harper fashioned a diaper out of scraps of cloth and Bellamy gave them a few pointers for raising a baby.

"But I had to hide her under the floor," he said with a shrug. "So that's what most of my knowledge centers around."

The apartment cleared out after a while. Emori fell asleep with Iko resting on her chest. Murphy gently picked up their daughter  _ ~~their daughter they had a daughter~~_  and wandered around the apartment, humming and trying to decide where he was going to move things. The crib he would place next to their bed. When she got older she would need a bed of her own, but they couldn't make it too permanent. Eventually they were going to Earth.

And they'd have Iko with them when they did.

* * *

**70 weeks in space**

Emori tucked Iko into the sling that Echo and Raven had helped her make and called out, "John! Raven asked me to help her in Earth Monitoring!"

John stuck his head out of the bathroom, his toothbrush sticking out of a frowning mouth.

"When will you be back?" he asked. Emori laughed, walking over to him and pulling the toothbrush out of his mouth.

"Later," she said. "Didn't Bellamy want you to help him with the spaceship?"

John's eyes widened. 

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck-"

Emori laughed, setting the toothbrush on the sink.

"I'll see you later, John!"

She walked towards Earth Monitoring, twirling the small silver ring around her finger absentmindedly. John told her the tradition was to place it on the left ring finger, but given the condition of her left hand, they settled for the right. 

Raven was bent over one of the control panels, slamming her fist into it and swearing at the top of her lungs. 

"Not in front of the baby," Emori grinned. Raven straightened, her expression softening at the sight of Iko strapped to Emori's chest. 

"How is she today?"

"Better," Emori said. "I was worried about her, but she's growing at a rate that Monty's articles say is healthy. John's been slipping me half his rations again and I'm pretending that I don't notice."

Raven rolled her eyes.

"Of course he is. Murphy is the most self-preserving person I've ever met, except for when it comes to you. Figures."

Emori smiled.

"What is it that you need my help with?"

Raven gestured at the panel. 

"I had Bellamy and Murphy working on the ship today so that they wouldn't be here. Monty and Harper are at the algae farm and God knows what Echo gets up to these days. Probably skulking in the corner somewhere. Anyways, I only wanted you to see this. Bellamy for sure wouldn't take it well and the rest... well, I don't know how they'd react. That's why I asked you to come."

Emori frowned.

"What is it?"

"I just lost the signal and I've been trying to get it back," Raven said. She pointed at the control panel. "I'm going to climb under that. I'll tell you what to do."

Emori stood in front of the control panel, waiting for Raven to tell her what to do. She had to push a few buttons and turn a few knobs. Raven cursed out the complex wiring a few times, then - 

"It's been four hundred and ninety days since Praimfiya. Only a year and a half into this. The Earth is healing, slowly. Funny story is, Bellamy, that I found someone else. Another nightblood. She's just a kid. Her name's Maddie, you'd love her."

Emori's eyes widened. 

"Is that... Clarke?"

Raven pulled herself out from under the console, grinning.

"That's her, alright. I was just messing around when I landed on the right frequency. We can't talk to her, but we can hear her. She does this every single day. I first heard it two days ago. I thought I was losing my mind, but she did it again the next day. She's alive."

"What are we going to do?" Emori asked. Raven's grin widened.

"We're going to get back to Earth and find her."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kat's spelling notes: the word "nauseous" is four different kinds of hell ffs; "monitoring" took me four tries I kid you not; "vaguely" can choke; fun fact i actually had to look up the word "pregnant" because _I_ didn't know what it was in English; "exasperation" is a fun word to say, not to spell; the word "squirrel" and all of its variations are fucking hell to pronounce and spell I don't know why I torture myself like this ~~it's for the aesthetic~~ ; the word "fiery" makes me extremely angry every time I have to type it; I'm almost certain I misspelled "Praimfiya" but I don't really care
> 
> Anyways none of this will ever be canon but it's memori day and i'm emotional


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By slightly popular demand, have a continuation! Featuring: Murphy being a dad, Emori being adorable, and lots of angst to go around! jk it's fluff but i also don't know how to chill here we go

**74 weeks in space**

Murphy was taking care of Iko while Emori helped Monty in the farm. He was wandering around, humming an old lullaby that he'd learned either from Emori or from the Ark's archives (he honestly couldn't remember which), when he heard a crash from Earth Monitoring. He hesitated to walk towards it (a healthy hesitation given that he had his infant daughter strapped to his chest) but eventually a mixture of curiosity and worry won out.

He found Bellamy standing over the radio, his head in his hands. Murphy spotted the source of the loud crash - Bellamy had thrown a chair to the side. 

"-I can't-" Clarke's voice sobbed. "I can't do this for another four years. It's so  _long_."

"She's alone down there," Bellamy said, stringing his hands through his hair. "She's alone down there and it's all my fault. I left her behind to die and now she's alone."

"She's not alone," Murphy said. "Didn't she find that girl, Maddie?"

"Maddie's barely five," Bellamy said. "And that doesn't change the fact that I left her to die."

"Raven will get through to her-"

"You don't get it!" Bellamy cried, whirling around to face Murphy. Murphy's chest constricted at the tears in Bellamy's eyes. He could count on one hand the number of times he'd seen Bellamy or Clarke cry. "You don't get it, Murphy." Bellamy gestured at Iko. "You made it to space with the person you loved."

Murphy swallowed, nodding. Iko began to fuss and he gave her one of his fingers to suck on.

"Yeah, you're right," he said. "I did."

He turned to leave. Behind him, Clarke continued to sob over the radio. He stopped at the door, tipping his head back.

"You're not the only one who feels guilty for shit that happened on Earth," he said quietly. He turned and offered Bellamy a half-smile. "Though some of us get other people to beat us up for it instead of doing it ourselves." He let the smile drop off his face. "I really am sorry, Bellamy. But Raven will get through to her."

He left without another word.

* * *

**78 weeks in space**

Murphy woke up in the middle of the night to Iko crying. He groaned, throwing one arm over his eyes.

"Emori," he grumbled. "Emori."

"It's your turn," was the sleepy response.

"Since fucking when?"

"Watch your fucking language in front of Iko."

Murphy's lips twitched at that and he begrudgingly got up, walking over to Iko's crib and picking her up. A quick look-over told him she was either hungry or just plain upset about something. He offered her a finger to suck on. She quieted after a second, humming happily and grasping onto his fingers. He grinned and walked into the other room so that he could talk to her without disturbing Emori. 

"I suppose you'll want to hear me talk," he said. "Since that usually calms you down. I've run out of poetry in English. The Ark has a surprisingly small supply of poetry. I think Bellamy offered to get me the Iliad, but I'm not quite that desperate. I did find some French poetry, though I don't remember the last time I practiced my French. I think we had a neighbor whose family was from the French station. My dad used to talk with them all the time. I picked up most of what I know from them. Anyways, my pronunciation is probably terrible and my accent will be worse but-" He glanced down at Iko and sighed, smiling as her tiny hands curled around his fingers. "I suppose you'll never know the difference."

Iko liked to just listen to his voice, or Emori's, when she was upset. Emori would tell her stories in Trigedaslang while Iko played with the mutated fingers of her mother's left hand. Murphy didn't have a lot of pleasant stories to tell his daughter, so he settled for looking up poetry in the Ark's databases and reading it to Iko. Sometimes Emori would get up to listen to him, sometimes she would stay in bed. 

He pulled up the first poem he'd saved on the small computer by the door. Iko started to whine when he had his fingers away from her mouth for too long and he put them back within her reach, squinting at the poem. He began to read it softly.

" _Elle est retrouvée._  
 _Quoi ? - L'Eternité._  
 _C'est la mer allée_  
 _Avec le soleil._

_Ame sentinelle,_   
_Murmurons l'aveu_   
_De la nuit si nulle_   
_Et du jour en feu._

_Des humains suffrages,_   
_Des communs élans_   
_Là tu te dégages_   
_Et voles selon._

_Puisque de vous seules,_   
_Braises de satin,_   
_Le Devoir s'exhale_   
_Sans qu'on dise : enfin._

_Là pas d'espérance,_   
_Nul orietur._   
_Science avec patience,_   
_Le supplice est sûr._

_Elle est retrouvée._  
 _Quoi ? - L'Eternité._  
 _C'est la mer allée_  
 _Avec le soleil_."

He glanced down at Iko. She was slowly drifting off. Murphy grinned. He'd stumbled over a few words, but for not practicing in years, he wasn't too bad.

"What language was that?" Emori asked sleepily. Murphy turned around. She was leaning against the doorframe, yawning. "It wasn't English, was it?"

"No," Murphy said quietly. Iko hiccuped, her eyes closing. "No, that was French. Some of my neighbors when I was a kid spoke it."

Iko's grip on his fingers loosened. He carried her back to her crib, kissing Emori's forehead on the way by. He tucked Iko under her little blanket and almost immediately crawled back into bed. He was grateful for Iko, but he also missed the days when he got to sleep more than two hours at a time. Emori slipped under the covers next to him and he instinctively pulled her into him, curling his body protectively around hers.

"There's so much I haven't learned," she whispered. Murphy couldn't see her face in the dark. "About the Ark, about life before the fire killed the world. How am I supposed to teach Iko when I don't know anything myself?"

Murphy shut his eyes, burying his head in her hair.

"That sounds like a morning problem," he murmured. "Now, we sleep."

He fell asleep to Emori's soft laughter.

* * *

**82 weeks in space**

Iko's first birthday was celebrated without too much fanfare. With only seven people on the Ark (Iko counted as half a person, according to Raven), there wasn't much room for anything extravagant. They decorated their small apartment with sheets off the bed and makeshift decorations from scrap metal. Iko ended up sleeping through half her party, leaving her parents and the other guests to drink Monty's moonshine and celebrate a year and a half in space (not exactly, though they were all willing to overlook that). 

"Only three and a half more years of this hell," Murphy said, holding up his cup. "I'll drink to that."

Even Bellamy was having a good time, though the dark circles under his eyes suggested that he had been spending a lot of sleepless nights in front of the radio. Murphy poured a little extra moonshine into his cup.

"Come on, it's a reason to celebrate," he said when Bellamy glared at him. "Nobody died! A baby was born! None of us has gone stir-crazy yet! Have a drink, live a little!"

Harper picked up Iko when she started to cry, singing softly to the young girl. But Iko didn't want to be held by Aunt Harper, as Murphy started to jokingly call her. Iko reached out for Emori, her lip trembling.

"Mama."

Everyone in the room froze, staring at the child. Murphy pressed one hand to his mouth, his eyes sliding to Emori, who had been tucked under his arm for the majority of the party. Emori was staring, wide-eyed, as Iko repeated the word, her little hands clenching and unclenching as she reached for her mother. 

Emori crossed the room and took Iko from Harper, balancing her on her hip. Iko immediately started to play with Emori's hair, babbling nonsense with the occasional "mama" thrown in. Murphy found himself grinning and downed the rest of his drink. Harper was beaming at the child, who seemed entirely oblivious to the adults staring at her. Emori was listening to Iko babble with a half-smile, rocking back and forth on her feet.

Echo left first, muttering something in Trigedaslang that made Emori laugh (though she wouldn't tell Murphy what Echo had said). Monty and Harper left next, stumbling and giggling. Raven left after that, still holding a cup of moonshine. Bellamy followed after her, probably to make sure she didn't blow something up while drunk.

Emori handed Iko to Murphy, who held the baby girl at eye-level and stared her down. 

"Okay, Starstuff," he said. "Now that you've shown that you can talk, say 'Dada'."

Iko just stared at him, hiccuping. She smiled brightly and reached out, grabbing the long ends of his hair. He couldn't help but laugh.

"Come on, focus," he said. "Dada."

"Mama."

"That's Mama. I'm Dada. Da-da."

Emori laughed, pulling the sheets off the tops of the doors and tossing them back on the bed. 

"I think it's clear who's the favorite here," she joked. Murphy narrowed his eyes at Iko. 

"Traitor," he muttered. Emori laughed again. 

"We need to cut your hair," she said, tugging on the growing ends as she walked by him. "You're getting scraggly again."

"You like it."

"It's annoying."

Iko yanked on the part she'd been playing with and Murphy bit back a cry. Emori laughed again. 

"I'll ask Raven if I can borrow some scissors."

* * *

**84 weeks in space**

Murphy was laying on his stomach on the floor of the apartment, making the little metal horse Raven had fashioned for Iko run across the floor. Iko crashed her horse into his, screaming, "Boom!"

"You've been spending too much time with Raven," Murphy said to his daughter, shaking out his sore hand. The door opened and Emori walked in, smiling at the scene on the floor. Iko cried, "Mama!"

"You two seem to be enjoying yourselves," Emori said. Murphy grinned. 

"I think Iko's cheating at horses," he said. 

Iko got up, wobbling a bit, and stumbled over to Emori. Murphy's eyes widened. Emori quickly caught Iko before she could fall to the ground. She laughed a little, lifting Iko to rest on her hip.

"You finally decided to walk," she said. Murphy groaned. 

"This means we have to babyproof the entire fucking Ark," he said. "Raven's going to be pissed."

"Watch your fucking language," Emori said, grinning. "Iko's talking now. She might pick up some unsavory words."

"Fuck!" Iko said happily. Emori blinked, looking down at the little girl. Iko looked very proud of herself. Murphy started laughing.

"That one's on you," he said. 

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck," Iko chanted, her smile blinding. Emori put her hand over her face, groaning. Murphy got up, wrapping one arm around her and giving both her and Iko a kiss on the top of the head.

"She was bound to learn it eventually," he said. "Might as well teach her early."

"Fuck," Emori muttered.

"Fuck!"

* * *

**90 weeks in space**

Emori nudged open the door to Earth Monitoring with her foot, Iko pulling on her hair.

"Hey, come on in," Raven said. "I'm just working on the radio."

"Ray!" Iko cried at the sight of Raven. Even that didn't make Raven's lips curve upwards.

"Still can't get through to Clarke?" Emori asked.

"No," Raven said. "If I knew what kind of equipment she had on the ground, it would make everything so much easier, but I don't. I barely know what she has access to."

"What would she need access to to talk to us?" Emori asked. Iko squirmed, so she set her down. Iko toddled over to Raven and grasped her pant leg, chanting, "Ray! Ray! Ray!" Raven didn't seem to notice, focused on the radio.

"A satellite of some kind. The satellite she used to send the signal that got us all on the Ark would work, but from everything she's said it sounds like she's mobile. I'm guessing she found the rover at this point. When she did I can't say. She doesn't talk much about what she's found, mostly about missing us all and how the Earth is doing. I just need to find out what kind of equipment she has."

"Well, how have we picked up the signal?" Emori asked, more out of curiosity than anything. She didn't know much about the Ark's strange technology.

"We have receivers designed for long distances. As long as she was aiming for the Ark and had something strong enough, we could pick it up."

That didn't make any sense to Emori, but Raven didn't stop. She went on about satellites and receivers and getting a signal down to Earth.

"It would also help if I had a general sense of where the hell she is," Raven added. "I really don't know."

Iko tugged on Raven's pant leg, finally capturing her attention.

"Ray?" the little girl asked uncertainly. Raven smiled a little.

"Hey, Iko. Wanna see what I do all day?"

Iko reached up and Raven picked her up, showing her the radio and naming all the different components. Emori watched, smiling, as Iko reached for the radio.

"No, we're not going to touch it," Raven said. She handed Iko to Emori and rubbed her eyes, blinking a few times before turning back to the radio.

"You should take a break," Emori said. Raven glanced up, frowning.

"What?"

"You should take a break," Emori repeated. "How long have you been in here? The radio will still be there tomorrow."

"What am I going to do in the meantime?" 

* * *

"Murphy!" Harper called. Murphy glanced up from the book he was reading. Harper appeared in the doorway to his apartment, Iko on her hip. Iko brightened when she saw him, her hands reaching out.

"Harp, down!" she said. Harper laughed and set Iko down. Iko immediately ran towards Murphy. She tripped and fell halfway there, leading to Murphy shooting to his feet and scooping her up. She didn't seem affected by the fall and cried, "Dada!" and put her hands on his face. 

"I thought Emori was with her," Murphy said, shifting Iko to his hip. Harper shrugged.

"Apparently she and Raven are doing something fun. She asked me to bring Iko here."

Murphy frowned.

"She and Raven are 'doing something fun'? Somehow that doesn't sound like a good idea."

Harper laughed.

"Who knows. Raven's idea of fun is usually rocket science or spacewalking, so I imagine Emori's having lots of fun."

Murphy's eyes widened as Harper left.

_Spacewalking._

Motherfucker.

He internally debated leaving Iko with Bellamy ("Bella" according to Iko, much to everyone else's amusement). Bellamy was one of her favorite people and Bellamy loved Iko, but Murphy wasn't sure where he was and he needed to find Emori. He finally growled, "Fuck," under his breath and hurried towards Bellamy's apartment. Iko giggled and said, "Fuck," laughing maniacally afterwards.

Bellamy was sitting on the couch in his apartment, reading glasses on and book in hand. Murphy didn't even need to check the title to know what he was reading - the Odyssey. 

"Hey," Murphy said. Iko shouted, "Bella!" and Bellamy looked up with a grin at the little girl.

"Hey, Iko. Murphy. What's up?"

"I know it's not date night and it's not your turn but could you watch Iko for a little bit? I don't know where Emori is and apparently she and Raven are doing something 'fun' and I have no fucking clue what that means."

"Always happy to watch Iko," Bellamy said. "And Raven's probably taking Emori spacewalking."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Murphy muttered. He set Iko down and she ran over to Bellamy, who scooped her up and set her on his lap.

"I'll be back," Murphy said. "Bye Iko!"

"Bye Dada!"

He sprinted for the airlock. Emori was watching Raven demonstrate how to put on a spacesuit, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Raven glanced up at Murphy when she heard him coming and smirked.

"Emori, looks like Harper ratted us out."

Emori turned around and grinned at Murphy.

"She's going to teach me how to spacewalk," she said happily. Murphy slid his gaze to Raven.

"Are you sure this is safe?" he asked. Raven rolled her eyes.

"Relax, Murphy. Emori will be fine."

_Emori will be fine._

_Wrists bruising under restraints_

_A scream that tore his throat apart_

_Black blood spattered inside the chamber_

_Imagining that it was hers_

_Emori will be fine._

"John," Emori said, setting a hand on his arm. "It's all good."

"I'm just-" He swallowed hard, staring at the airlock. "I'm not used to seeing people go through an airlock willingly."

Raven's eyes widened and she seemed to realize what he meant.

"It's perfectly safe," she said. "Relax."

"Where's Iko?" Emori asked, seeming to realize the little girl wasn't with Murphy.

"Bellamy's watching her. Probably telling her a bunch of obscure Greek myths again."

"Again?" Raven asked, her lips twitching.

"Last time we got her after date night, he was telling her the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. She kept saying 'Die' after that. I guess Eurydice was her favorite character."

Raven laughed at that.

"So on the list of best babysitters, where is Bellamy?" she asked.

"Above you," Murphy shot back. "She likes to yell 'Boom' after you've watched her. I think the best one is, ironically, Echo. She is at least semi-chill about watching a kid under the age of two."

Raven sulked for a second, then continued showing Emori how to put on the spacesuit. Soon they were both suited up and ready to go. Murphy stood at the window, arms crossed over his chest, and watched with a pounding heart as Emori floated out. He inhaled shakily. She looked so happy, spinning around and floating. Raven was floating nearby, probably telling Emori to chill the fuck out. Emori spotted Murphy standing at the window and waved enthusiastically and Murphy couldn't help but think that her smile brighter than the damn sun.

"She looks like she's having a good time," Bellamy said, walking up next to Murphy. Iko was sitting on his shoulders. Murphy's lips curved automatically at the sight of his daughter and he took her from Bellamy, lifting her to sit on his shoulders. She started tugging on his hair, babbling a mixture of nonsense and the few words that she could say, like "Dada" and "Bella" and "Fuck".

"She wanted to find you," Bellamy said. "She kept saying 'Dada' and pointing at the door."

"Ha!" Murphy said, forgetting temporarily that Bellamy was there. "I am the favorite parent!"

Bellamy laughed at that.

"Are you and Emori keeping score?"

"Of course," Murphy scoffed. "I think I'm finally ahead."

Bellamy laughed again. They both turned back to the window, watching Emori doing clumsy flips. Murphy couldn't help his smile when Iko pointed out the window and cried, "Mama!"

"Yeah," Murphy said. "She's spacewalking."

* * *

**106 weeks in space**

Iko ran around the apartment, shrieking with laughter as Murphy chased after her. Emori was laughing as well, laying in bed and watching them. Murphy caught up to Iko and snatched her up, blowing raspberries on her stomach while she screamed. 

"Dada, no!" Iko shrieked, her laughter ruining the cry. Murphy grinned, blowing a few more raspberries before setting her down on the floor again. Iko ran to Emori, who leaned down and murmured something in Trigedaslang. Murphy cocked his head, trying to listen to what Emori was saying, but she was speaking too quietly and he wasn't fluent enough. Iko turned back to him with a grin. Murphy raised his eyebrows.

"Dada," she said, waving at him. He waved back.

"Starstuff. What did Mama say?"

Iko reached up like she wanted to be picked up. Murphy glanced at Emori, who just shrugged with the smirk that made him fall in love with her. He walked over to Iko and picked her up. She gave him a big kiss on the cheek.

"Starstuff," she said.

"That's you," Murphy said, poking her in the belly. "Starstuff."

She gave him another big smile and jabbed her little fingers into his side, where he was most ticklish. He nearly dropped her in surprise. She started giggling, jabbing him over and over. He held her out in front of him, narrowing his eyes at her.

"I love you, Starstuff, but this means war," he said. He carried her over to the bed and dropped her next to Emori. Iko tried to squirm away, but he was faster. He knew all her ticklish spots and had her breathless within seconds. Emori laughed at the two of them and Murphy raised an eyebrow at her.

"What, you think you're getting out of this?" he said. Emori's eyes widened and she tried to jump off the bed. Murphy pounced on her, his hands going to her sides. She laughed, trying to push him away. Iko joined her mother's team, trying to get Murphy back. 

They all went to bed with sore bellies.

* * *

**130 weeks in space**

Iko's second birthday was marked by the birthday girl running around the apartment, shouting the words she'd learned, in both English and Trigedaslang, at the top of her lungs. This was truly an amusing spectacle, because words like "Bella" and "Horsey" were followed immediately by "Fuck" and "Shit", with absolutely no warning.

"She's going to have the worst potty mouth out of everyone," Raven said to Emori, sipping her moonshine. Emori laughed, watching John grab Iko up and say, "Come on, Starstuff, let's see what Bellamy brought you."

"Bella!"

"John and I certainly were not the best role models," she said. "I used to tell him to watch his fucking language around the baby. I should have figured that would backfire on me eventually."

"Everything does," Raven laughed. Bellamy presented Iko with a handmade book. The front, written in Bellamy's careful hand, read, "Stories of the 100." Iko oohed over the book, running her hands over the cover. 

"Am I in this?" John asked, clearly as delighted by the book as Iko. Bellamy smirked.

"You are." He refused to elaborate on that particular statement. "We all contributed. Jasper's in there."

"Jas-per," Iko said, running her hands over the cover again. Monty looked down at the ground.

"And..." Bellamy stared at the book, his jaw tightening. "Monroe. All of us, obviously. Finn. Octavia and Lincoln."

"Clarke?" John asked. Bellamy swallowed, looking away from the book.

"Yeah, she is in there too."

"Clarke!" Iko said, clearly delighted by the new word. "Clarke Clarke Clarke. Claaaaarke."

Bellamy let out a tight laugh, moving away. The next gift was from Monty and Harper - a new blanket made from extra scraps of clothing. Echo had (with Raven's help) created one of the Azgeda protective spirits out of scrap metal. Raven's gift was a doll stuffed with scraps of cloth. Iko dubbed the doll Lala immediately and held her out to John.

"Kiss her to life!" Iko cried, then again in Tridegaslang.  _"Kiss her!"_

John obliged, pressing a kiss to the doll's face and then to Iko's. Iko giggled and made the doll dance around the room with her. Emori laughed, watching as Iko dragged John to the ground to play with her. She walked over and picked up the book that Bellamy had given Iko, flipping it open. 

"I would've illustrated it," Bellamy said, coming to stand by Emori. "But the only person among us that could draw was-" He swallowed, seeming to choke on Clarke's name. "Anyways, despite the shit Murphy did on Earth, I only wrote good things about him. You know, we can shit talk Iko's dad when she's older."

Emori laughed. She turned to the first page, beginning to read carefully. 

"Once upon a time, there was a group of 100 teenagers and 1 stowaway who traveled to Earth from the Ark. They had many adventures on the ground, some of which are chronicled here, in this book." She glanced up at Bellamy. "Am  _I_ in this book?"

"Yeah, you are. I found out how you and Murphy met from him a few months ago, when Raven took you spacewalking for the first time. Quite the romantic first meeting, robbing him at knifepoint."

Emori shrugged, grinning.

"We worked it out."

"Clearly."

"Mama!" Iko ran up to Emori. "Mama, come play!"

Emori let Iko grab her hand and pull her over to John, who was lying on his stomach and lining up the little metal figures that Iko played with in order of size. Iko began to boss around her parents, directing where the different toys went. John watched her with a soft smile. Iko's directions switched between between Trigedaslang and English with no warning. The other adults joined in after a few minutes. Iko was delighted by the help and ordered everyone around until they were all positioned where she wanted.

"I think she gets the bossy part from you," John whispered to Emori. Emori rolled her eyes at him.

"Whatever you say, John."

She still wore a smile.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (i don't remember if there was actually a french station in the original ark but i just really wanted murphy to read some french poetry sorry not sorry)
> 
> (also Iko probably should have been talking before a year but shh i know nothing about children)
> 
> More non-canon fluff! featuring everyone raising Iko together


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Space Family part three - kat is sleep deprived and emotional
> 
> Enjoy!

**166 weeks in space**

"Dada!" Iko screamed. Murphy sprinted around the corner. He found her standing in the middle of the hallway, tears wet on her cheeks. He skidded to a stop in front of her, dropping to his knees and pushing tears off her cheek with his thumb.

"What is it, Starstuff?"

"I ouched my arm," she sobbed, holding it out for him. Murphy took her hand gently, pulling her closer to him. He turned her arm over and saw a long gash down the underside. He swallowed hard.

"Okay, Starstuff," he said. "You cut your arm. Let's get you back home and Mama will take a look at it."

"It hurts," she sniffed. Murphy picked her up.

"I know," he said. "Don't worry. It's going to be okay."

He carried her back to the apartment. Emori was folding laundry at the kitchen table when they got there, looking up with a smile that quickly dropped off when she saw the blood on Iko's arm. She shot to her feet, shrieking in Trigedaslang,  _"What the hell happened?"_

"I'm not sure," Murphy said, setting Iko down. Emori grabbed one of Murphy's shirts off the table and said to Iko, "Let's wash that off and get you to Bellamy."

"Why do we need to take her to Bellamy?" Murphy asked. Emori winced.

"The gash is too deep," she said slowly. "She'll need stitches."

Murphy's eyes widened.

"No. No fucking way." 

"John, I don't like it any more than you-"

"No!"

Emori crouched down in front of Iko. 

"Let's wash it off, okay?" 

Iko nodded, sniffing. Emori gave Murphy a look that said the conversation was far from over and carried Iko into the bathroom. He stared down at the kitchen table while the water ran in the other room. As someone who had gotten stitches before, he knew how painful it was without anesthetic. 

Emori returned after a minute, carrying Iko. She'd wrapped the shirt around Iko's arm to bandage the gash and wouldn't meet Murphy's eyes.

"Grab the storybook," she said. "Come on, Iko, let's go see Bellamy."

Murphy ground his teeth together, picking the storybook Bellamy had made for Iko's birthday up off the table. He followed Emori to Bellamy's apartment.

"We need your help," Emori said as a way of greeting. Bellamy leapt to his feet when he saw the gash in Iko's arm.

"My stitches won't be as straight as they used to be," he said, pulling a sewing kit out of one of the compartments. "I'll radio Raven and see if we have any anesthetics."

All the weight lifted off Murphy's chest, a long and relieved breath blowing out of his mouth. Bellamy glanced up at him.

"What, you thought we'd make her go through it without anesthetics?"

"I never know what you assholes are going to do," Murphy snapped, crossing his arms over his chest. "I mean you hanged me for something I didn't do."

Bellamy raised an eyebrow and Murphy drooped a little.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"You're stressed," Bellamy shrugged. "It happens." He grabbed his radio and said, "Raven, do we have any anesthetics?" 

A crackle.

"Yeah, why?"

"Iko cut her arm. She needs stitches."

"I'll be there in five minutes, tops."

Bellamy set down the radio and smiled at Iko.

"See? All good. Raven will be here in a minute and then we'll help make your arm better."

Iko sniffed, clutching the hurt arm. Bellamy had her set it on the table and started sterilizing a needle and some thread. Murphy sat down next to Iko, opening the storybook.

"Alright, Starstuff," he said. "What story do you want to read?"

"Maya," Iko said. "I like that one."

Murphy nodded, opening the book. Maya's story was one of Iko's favorites. He flipped through the pages until he found the one.

"Once upon a time, in the hidden world of Mount Weather, there lived a brave girl named Maya."

He was almost to the part where she met Clarke when Raven arrived with the anesthetics. Iko held his hand while she got her arm poked. After a minute, Bellamy asked, "Can you feel this?"

Iko looked at Murphy, her brow creasing.

"Is he doing something?" she whispered. Murphy laughed a little and Bellamy chuckled.

"Okay, Iko, we're going to get started," Bellamy said. Murphy kept Iko's hand in his and continued reading from the book.

"One day, a princess with golden hair was brought to the mountain," he said. Iko brightened, completely oblivious to the needle sewing the gash together. 

"That's Clarke!"

Murphy smiled.

"Yeah, that's Clarke. The princess with golden hair, Clarke, didn't understand the strange ways of the Mountain Men, as she called them. She wanted to find her friends, who had been brought to the mountain as well. Maya helped her find her friends and taught her about the mountain. Maya met another one of the Sky People, Jasper."

"He's the one with the goggles!"

"Almost done," Bellamy said. Emori let out a slightly strangled sound. Murphy glanced at Iko's arm and winced. There were eight stitches so far and Bellamy wasn't finished. He turned back to the book.

"Maya fell in love with Jasper and showed him the warehouse full of art from the first world," Murphy read. "She taught Jasper to love art and the beautiful things inside the mountain."

"But there were monsters," Iko said seriously.

"Yes," Murphy agreed. "There were monsters. Maya tried to warn the Sky People about the monsters, so the Mountain Men tried to silence her."

"But Jasper saved her!" Iko cried. 

"All done," Bellamy said. Murphy glanced over at Iko's arm and saw Bellamy tying the thread off. Emori let out a shaky breath.

"Just keep it clean," Bellamy said. "Iko, be really careful with that arm. If you're not, it could get even more hurt."

Iko nodded. She turned to Murphy.

"When are we going to finish the story?" she asked. 

"You already know how it ends," Murphy said. 

"Yeah. Maya went up to the stars like the Mountain Men."

Bellamy inhaled deeply, putting away the sewing kit.

"We'll finish it later," Murphy said. "Come on, let's get home. Thanks, Bellamy."

"Anytime," Bellamy replied. "Hey, Raven wanted us to work on the rocket again today."

Murphy frowned.

"I thought we finished that shit a year ago."

"Yeah, but we're almost to a year to go. She's getting paranoid that something's going to go wrong."

"Alright. I'll meet you there in a couple hours."

Emori carried Iko as they headed back to their apartment, but Iko squirmed down by one of the windows. She pressed her nose to it, pointing at the stars.

"I think that one's Maya," she said, looking up at Murphy. Murphy smiled.

"Why do you think that?"

"Because it is her," Iko said matter-of-factly. "And look! Jasper's next to her!"

Murphy looked at the pair of stars Iko was pointing at. Emori stood next to him and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Is Clarke in the stars too?" Iko asked. "Is that why Bellamy is sad?"

"No," Murphy said. "Clarke's on Earth. We can't go back to Earth yet and that's why Bellamy is sad."

"I wish Bellamy wasn't sad," Iko said, looking back at the stars. 

"Me too, Starstuff."

* * *

  **178 weeks in space**

Iko's third birthday was marked by the rocket breaking. They were all laughing and drinking while the birthday girl babbled in Trigedaslang to her mother and Echo when Raven's tablet pinged. Raven's cup hit the floor and she cried, "Fuck!" Murphy froze, looking up at her.

"What?"

"The rocket," she said. Bellamy was out the door the second the words had left her mouth, Monty trailing behind the two of them half a second later. Murphy glanced at Emori, who said something to Iko and nodded at him. He hurried out of the apartment, heading towards the rocket bay. He heard a crash before he got there, followed by Bellamy shouting, "Fuck! Dammit all to fucking hell!"

The source of the crash was clear when he reached the rocket bay. A toolbox lay on the floor, its contents scattered around it and Bellamy crouched over it, his head in his hands.

"What happened?" Murphy asked. The rocket was smoking, some of the paneling melted. Raven was smacking something with a wrench.

"We're looking at spontaneous total system failure," she said, clearly on the verge of tears. "I don't know why it happened. I'm trying to figure out a cause, but this shit is a hundred years old."

"How long will it take to fix it?"

"I don't know," Raven said, her voice trembling. "We're going to have to rebuild a lot, redo the paneling, fix the wiring. From what I can tell, we're looking at another year and a half, at least, just to rebuild. And I still have to fix the internal systems. It took us almost two years to finish this the first time around. It's probably going to take us another two years to fix."

Bellamy got up and left, his shoulders shaking. Monty shouted, "Raven, the navigation system is completely fucked!"

"Is there anything I can do?" Murphy asked. Raven gave him a half-smile.

"Go home. Spend some time with your daughter and your wife. I'll call you when I need you. Monty and I are still assessing the damage."

"My assessment is we're fucked," Monty said, sticking his head out of the rocket.

"Not  _fucking_ helping, Monty."

"Alright," Murphy said. "Let me know."

He went home. Echo and Emori were conversing in low voices while Harper taught Iko a song about body parts.

"Head, shoulders, knees, and toes, knees and toes!"

"Knees and toes!" Iko shouted, her grin enormous. 

"Thank you, Harper," Murphy said. "That won't be stuck in my head for the rest of my life."

"You're such an ass," Harper said, smiling. "Iko's having fun."

Emori looked up.

"What happened?" she asked. 

"Raven says it's total system failure. We're stuck up here for another two years."

Harper sat down, her eyes widening. The three women stared at Murphy for a minute, the silence in the apartment broken only by Iko shouting, "Knees and toes!"

"I'm going to go help Monty," Harper finally said. "Bye Iko!"

"Bye Harp-er!"

Echo said something quietly to Emori and left silently. Emori picked up Iko and set her on her lap, stroking the little girl's hair. Iko seemed to pick up on the suddenly somber mood and quieted.

"Why is everyone sad?" she asked. Emori sighed and Murphy sat down next to them.

"Remember how we're going to Earth in a year?" Emori said. Iko nodded. "Well, the rocket we were going to take to Earth broke. So we have to stay in space for an extra year."

Iko frowned.

"But what about Clarke?" she asked. Murphy glanced at Emori.

"Clarke is going to have to wait another year," he said to Iko. 

The three of them sat in silence for another minute. Iko finally looked up at Murphy.

"Can we read a story?"

Murphy laughed, some of the heaviness that had settled in his chest dissipating. 

"Sure, Starstuff. What story do you want?"

"Wells Wells Wells!" Iko cried, jumping up and running for the storybook. She climbed up onto Murphy's lap and he scooted closer to Emori, putting one arm around her and holding the storybook with the other hand. Iko opened the book for him, turning to one of the first stories. Murphy cleared his throat.

"Once upon a time, back when the Ark was still whole, there was a prince and a princess."

"Wells and Clarke!"

"That's right, Starstuff. Wells and Clarke. The prince loved the princess. She was his best friend. He loved her so much he went down to Earth to stay with her."

"Wells is in the stars too," Iko said sadly. Murphy swallowed, the memory of a noose tightening around his neck.

"Yeah, Wells is in the stars. He went up to the stars not long after the hundred went to Earth."

Emori began to braid Iko's hair. Murphy kept reading the story, trying not to think about the extra year they would have to spend trapped among the stars.

* * *

**200 weeks in space**

Emori lifted Iko up so that she could reach John's hair. Iko began to tug on it, saying, "Mama, can I give Dada a haircut this time?" John turned his head to look at Emori with wide eyes and she laughed.

"No, Iko. I'll cut it this time. Maybe next time."

John narrowed his eyes at her and she laughed again, lowering Iko to the ground. 

"You can sit on my lap," John said. Iko bounced up and down, waiting for him to sit down before clambering up. John put his hands around her waist and said to Emori, "We're ready."

Emori laughed at the two of them. Iko was beginning to take after her father, as much as John said she took after her mother. Emori often caught the two of them making plans, though what kind she was never able to get out of them. She usually discovered a few days later, when Raven barged into the apartment, picked up Iko, and carried her out without saying anything. John would explain through wheezing laughter what kind of mischief the two of them had been up to in Earth Monitoring before chasing after Raven. Sometimes they took Bellamy's books and hid them in increasingly ridiculous places. Emori was certain John had even taught Iko how to pick pockets.

She got to work trimming his hair. The first few times she did it had been awkward and choppy, but after a few years of practice, she'd gotten pretty good at it. Iko giggled as the trimmings fell on her head, tickling her face. John poked her in the belly when she wouldn't stop giggling, saying, "Starstuff, keep wiggling around and Mama might cut off my ear."

"Don't tempt me," Emori said, and Iko laughed even harder. Emori finished cutting John's hair and he turned his head to scowl at her. Iko turned in his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Dada," she said. "Can you cut  _my_ hair?"

John blinked and Emori stifled a laugh.

"You want me to cut your hair?" John said. Iko nodded.

"And Mama's, since she always cuts yours."

Emori's eyes widened and John turned to her with a mischievous smile.

"I could get on board with that plan," he said. Iko gave Emori a pleading look.

"Mama?"

Emori sighed. Iko had turned on what John called the "puppy" eyes (though Emori didn't know what a puppy was and why Iko would suddenly have its eyes). It was the expression that neither she nor John could say no to.

Iko had John cut her hair first, barely keeping still on the chair. It was her first haircut, so she was bouncing with excitement. John kept laughing, putting his hands on her shoulders to keep her still.

"How much do you want me to cut, Starstuff?" he asked. Iko thought about it for a minute, her legs swinging. Emori hovered close, her eyes on the scissors in John's hands. 

"Half of it," Iko finally said. "Not all of it."

John picked a spot and started cutting. Emori quickly got the sense that he'd never cut hair before. It was choppy and uneven. John did his best, finally saying, "Okay, Starstuff. I'm done. You might want to have Mama make it more even."

"No!" Iko shouted, clutching the ends of her hair. John froze and Emori reached out a hand. Iko's face split into an enormous smile. "It's perfect!"

John blew out a long breath that ended in a half-laugh. Iko looked up at Emori, her smile stretching even further. 

"Your turn, Mama!"

* * *

**210 weeks in space**

"Murphy!"

John whispered, "Fuck," and crawled under the bed. Iko cocked her head, looking up at Emori inquisitively.

"Mama, why is Dada hiding?" 

Emori stifled a laugh.

"I'm sure we'll find out soon enough."

Bellamy stormed into the apartment, a ridiculous, curly mustache drawn on his face. Emori choked on a laugh and Iko frowned.

"Bellamy, why is there a mustache drawn on your face?"

"I would like to ask your dad the same thing," Bellamy said. He turned to Emori, who pressed her hand to her mouth to stifle another laugh. The mustache twisted when his mouth moved, looking more ridiculous the more she looked at it. "Where's Murphy?"

"I don't know where John is," Emori said.

"He's hiding under the bed," Iko said, pointing. John let out a distressed cry of, "Iko!" Bellamy turned to the bed, his eyes narrowing. Emori picked up Iko and set her on her hip, coughing to hide her laughter.

"Let's go see what Harper and Monty are doing," she said. "I think Bellamy wants to talk to Dada in private."

John stuck his head out from under the bed, glaring at the two of them.

"My own family abandoning me," he said. "Who would've thought."

Emori left quickly, her laughter filling the hallways the second she was out the door.

* * *

**218 weeks in space**

"Dada?"

"What is it, Starstuff?"

"What happens to people that go up to the stars?"

Murphy nearly dropped the wrench on his foot. He coughed, picking it up again. Iko tilted her head, her legs swinging from where she was sitting on the edge of the rocket's fin. 

"Um, well, that's a little complicated," he said, twisting the bolt into place. 

"Why?"

Murphy cleared his throat, trying to think quickly. 

"Well, nobody that's gone up to the stars has ever been able to come back and tell us about it."

"But you know what happens to them," Iko said, as if this was obvious. "You know everything."

Raven snorted from the belly of the rocket.

"Iko, honey, your dad knows a lot, but he doesn't know everything."

"Do  _you_ know what happens to people that go up to the stars?"

Raven muttered something incoherent and slid back into the guts of the rocket. Iko blinked, looking back at Murphy. He coughed again, scrambling for an explanation. He remembered being little on the Ark, back when they all sat around the tree and prayed. His mother told him about Heaven once. He didn't remember much.

"Dada?" Iko asked, her voice small. Murphy glanced up at her and saw her lower lip quivering. He set down the wrench and reached up to her, lifting her up and setting her on his hip.

"What's wrong, Starstuff?"

"Are we in the stars?" she asked, sniffing. Murphy pushed a tear off her cheek with his thumb. 

"No, we're not."

"But we're not on Earth and we're in space. And everything around us is stars." Iko sniffed again. "So aren't we in the stars?"

"No, no," Murphy said. He pulled her close and she buried her face in his shoulder. "No, we're not in the stars. We're.... we're like the moon. We're in between Earth and the stars. We get to pick which one we want to be with."

"I wanna go to Earth," Iko said, tears dripping into Murphy's shirt. He held her tighter. "I don't want to go to the stars yet."

"We're not going to," Murphy said. "We're going to Earth."

Iko nodded, clinging to him. He said to Raven, "I'm going to take Iko home. I'll be back. Or maybe I won't. Who knows."

He carried her back to the apartment. Emori wasn't there, probably at the farm with Monty again, so he grabbed a blanket off their bed and laid down on the couch, letting Iko crawl on top of him. He pulled the blanket over the two of them and waited until Iko had fallen asleep to do the same. That's where Emori found them, hours later, with Murphy's arms protectively around his daughter.

* * *

**226 weeks in space**

"Dada, wake up!"

Iko bounced on the bed, her little hands smacking Murphy insistently. 

"Dada!"

"What? What is it?" he sat up sleepily, one arm going out automatically to Emori's side of the bed. He was met only with cold sheets and squinted at his daughter. "Starstuff, what's going on?"

Iko pouted at him.

"Mama said you'd forget."

"Of course I didn't forget," Murphy said, letting her pull him out of bed. What had he forgotten? Whatever it was, he had the excuse of Bellamy keeping him up working on the damn rocket and radio.

"Of course you didn't forget," Emori said, smirking. She kissed his cheek and then the top of Iko's head, saying, "Looks like the birthday girl managed to get her dada up after all."

_Iko's birthday._

Murphy was a terrible father. 

"Come here, Starstuff," he said, grabbing her up. She squealed with laughter and he set her on his hip, ignoring the fact that she was beginning to get too big for that. "How old are you now?"

Iko held up four fingers.

"Four? That can't be right," Murphy said. "Just yesterday you were turning two!"

"Bellamy says I'm old enough to help him and Raven with the radio," Iko said proudly. Murphy glanced at Emori, who just shrugged. Iko sneezed and Murphy's brain went into hyper-dad mode. 

"Emori, how long has she been sneezing?" he asked, his voice laced with worry. "Does she have a temperature? Has she been coughing too?"

"John," Emori laughed. "It's nothing to worry about. She's probably just got something up her nose."

"You're right," Murphy said, trying to relax. "You're right, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about." 

Iko didn't sneeze again, and Murphy found it easier and easier to relax. Everyone got together to celebrate. Echo taught Iko a song in Trigedaslang that Iko wouldn't stop singing for the rest of the day. Harper took delight in that and learned it as well, teaching yet another song to Iko. This one was less annoying than the "head, shoulders, knees, and toes" incident, but just as catchy. A song about sunshine.

"My only sunshine," Iko sang, grabbing the storybook and shoving it into Murphy's hands. She grinned at him. "I wanna hear the story about the desert!"

"Ah, yes," Monty said. "The one story nobody will tell the rest of us peasants. Only Bellamy got to know that one."

"Jealous, Monty?" Murphy said with a smirk. Monty stuck his tongue out at him and Murphy laughed, settling down on the couch and opening up the storybook. "This is the story of how your mom and I met."

"How I met your mother," Harper snickered. Raven spit her moonshine back into her cup and the two of them giggled for another minute while the rest of the group stared at them in confusion. Murphy turned back to Iko. 

"You sure you want to hear this one?" he asked. "It's not a fairytale."

Iko nodded, her expression becoming serious.

"I'm four now," she said. "I'm all grown up. I can handle it."

Murphy laughed at that and began reading.

"The Chancellor, Jaha, wanted to find the mystical City of Light. He believed it was through the desert. He brought a group of the Arkadians with him, including John Murphy."

"That's you!"

"That's me. They'd been walking through the desert for a long time when they came across a cart. A girl was hiding in it. She jumped out when they got close, appearing to be afraid of them."

"But Mama's not afraid of anything," Iko said, frowning. Emori snorted into her moonshine and Murphy smiled.

"You're absolutely right, Starstuff. Don't worry, it will make sense. Just listen to the story."

"Yeah, Iko," Raven said. "Quit interrupting, some of us haven't heard this story either."

Murphy flipped Raven the bird and continued.

"The girl introduced herself as Emori. Emori was a Grounder, and that made the Arkadians afraid. But not John Murphy. He offered her his friendship."

"That's adorable," Harper said. Murphy glanced up at her, raising his eyebrows.

"Excuse me, Harper," he said. "I'm trying to read a story here."

Bellamy coughed and Echo rolled her eyes.

"Are we ever going to _finish_ the damn story?" she asked. 

"Alright, alright. Emori agreed to help the Arkadians find the City of Light. As they were walking, she and Murphy began to talk. They discovered that they had a lot in common. Both of them were outcasts. The two of them seemed to connect, but it was quickly discovered that Emori was tricking the Arkadians. She robbed them of their supplies, but before she disappeared into the desert, she told Murphy the key to finding the City of Light - due north."

"What does that mean?" Iko asked, peering at the page. Murphy laughed.

"It's a direction. On Earth, you have to use directions like that to get around. Where was I? Ah, there we are. So Jaha and Murphy continued on. They faced many challenges before reaching the City of Light. There they discovered that the City of Light wasn't a city, but a computer program. Murphy was trapped for three months in an underground bunker. But, when he got out, Emori came back. The two of them used Emori's boat to escape the evil City of Light." Murphy shut the book. "The end."

Iko frowned. 

"Mama robbed you?"

Murphy smiled.

"Yup."

Iko thought about it. She looked up at Harper.

"Did you rob Monty?"

* * *

**234 weeks in space**

"Mama?"

"Iko, where are you?" 

"I'm in the closet like Dada said to do."

"Okay, I'm coming in."

_"I'm scared,"_ Iko whispered in Trigedaslang. Emori wrapped her arms around her, crouching down.

_"It's going to be okay_ ," she said. _"It's just a big rock."_

_"Dada said we get to pick if we go to the stars. Are we going to go to the stars?"_

_"No,"_ Emori said.  _"It's not going to hit us. Raven and Bellamy are taking care of it. Everything is going to be okay, I promise_."

The two of them remained in the closet until John flung it open and dropped to the ground, wrapping his arms around them.

"It missed us," he said. "By about three thousand meters."

Emori laughed a little, resting her head on his shoulder. Only a year left. Only a year left and they'd be on regular ground, not worrying about meteors hitting them or rocket failures. They'd be on Earth.

They'd be home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this almost got really sad but i don't hate myself quite that much
> 
> next up on space family - me finally finishing this


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Space family part four is here!!

**242 weeks in space**

"Okay, Iko," Raven said. "You're gonna press this button here. Do you remember what to say?"

Iko bounced on the chair, her smile ear-to-ear.

"Yeah, I remember!" she said. "Can I do it now?"

Murphy laughed.

"Be patient, Starstuff."

"Okay," Raven said. She adjusted a few things on the control panel. "Go ahead, Iko."

Iko pushed the button on the radio. 

"This is the Ark, calling the Earth. Hello?"

"Now let go of the button," Murphy said. Iko lifted her finger and waited. They only heard radio static. Iko frowned, looking up at Murphy.

"Why isn't Clarke answering?" she asked. Raven adjusted something else.

"Go ahead and try again," she said. Iko pushed down on the button again. 

"This is the Ark, calling the Earth. Clarke, are you there?"

More radio static.

"Good job, Iko," Raven said. "You did great, but the radio is going to need a bit more work."

Bellamy cleared his throat.

"Did we try adjusting the satellite on the far left side of the ring for a better range?"

"Yes, we did that last week," Raven said. "We could try again if it'll untwist your panties."

"I think it's time for us to go," Murphy said, lifting Iko off the chair. They left Earth Monitoring, Iko skipping ahead and singing nonsense about the stars. She stopped in front of a window, staring down at the Earth. Murphy stood next to her. The Earth had slowly regained its color over the years. It wasn't a flaming ball of death anymore, but rather a serene-looking green, blue, and grey planet. It was safe for them to go down, finally, and Murphy wished the rocket hadn't broken. He missed the fresh air. 

"Dada?" Iko said, looking up at him. "How much longer do we have to wait before we can go to Earth?"

"Raven says another year," Murphy said, staring at the blue oceans. He remembered Emori's boat and wondered if it had survived the five years. 

"Why can't we go now?" Iko asked. 

"The rocket isn't done," Murphy said. "We have to finish fixing it before we can go back to Earth."

"Oh," Iko said. She looked back at Earth, pressing her nose to the glass. "You know what I want to do when we get to Earth?"

Murphy smiled.

"What?"

"Catch butterflies." Iko stood on her toes. "They were in the storybook. I want to catch some."

She pointed at the blue water. 

"And I wanna swim in the rivers. And the ocean. And the lakes. And I wanna see a waterfall. And trees! Real trees!"

Murphy laughed.

"You'll see all of it, Starstuff. I promise."

* * *

**250 weeks in space**

Iko climbed up onto the chair Raven usually sat in. Bellamy crossed his arms over his chest. Clarke was still talking, telling them about the wild animals she'd come across the day before. 

"Remember, Starstuff, you have to wait until Clarke's done talking," Murphy said. "Otherwise she won't hear you."

"I remember," Iko said. "What do you think she'll say back?"

"Nobody knows," Murphy said.

"Probably 'who the fuck is this'," Bellamy snorted. Murphy shot him a glare. It took Clarke another fifteen minutes before she said, "Alright, Bellamy. It's been two months. Where the hell are you?"

The radio crackled and Iko pushed down on the button excitedly.

"This is the Ark," she said, loudly and slowly. "Hi Clarke!"

She let go of the button and they all listened with bated breath.

"Bellamy?"

Murphy's heart jumped into his throat. Iko pushed down on the button again, her grin splitting her cheeks.

"Clarke! My name's Iko! I'm calling from the Ark!"

Static for a moment.

"God, I must really be losing it. I thought I heard something." A choked laugh. "I really want you to come down."

Bellamy gently nudged Iko to the side and slammed down on the button.

"Clarke, it's me. We're coming down, but we have to fix the rocket."

"I'm... I'm going to go get Maddie up. We still have to finish mapping out the rest of the Green. I miss you."

The radio crackled and Clarke was gone.

"Clarke!" Bellamy shouted. His voice cracked. "Dammit, Clarke!"

Iko looked up at Murphy.

"Dada, why didn't she hear us?"

"The range needs to be longer," Bellamy said, more to himself than anyone else. "Then we can talk to her. We just need to fix the range."

"Come on," Murphy said to Iko. "We'll try again another day."

* * *

**258 weeks in space**

"Ready or not, here I come!"

Iko's laughter echoed through the halls of the Ark. Murphy grinned, tucking himself further into the cabinet he'd managed to stuff himself into. He was pretty impressed with himself on that front. That feeling of pride faded after about five minutes, at which point his legs started to cramp up and his neck got stiff. 

It had been quite the feat, convincing everyone to play a game of hide-and-seek with Iko. The entirety of the ring was allowed for hiding places, though not anywhere Iko couldn't go (which didn't rule out much as Iko was allowed free reign of the majority of the Ark). It had taken a lot of convincing (and puppy eyes from Iko) to get Bellamy and Raven to take a break, but they'd finally managed. Murphy was pretty sure he saw Raven heading for the launch bay, probably to hide in the guts of the rocket. 

"Found you!"

Echo's laughter rang out after Iko's excited shout. That was one down, six to go.

It took Iko a good half an hour to find Murphy. By that point, she'd found Raven, Bellamy, and Harper along with Echo.

Iko flung the cabinet door open and her face split into an enormous grin.

"Found you, Dada!"

"How the fuck?" Raven cried. Murphy unfolded himself from the cabinet, stretching out his cramped muscles. A joint somewhere popped. 

"Thank fuck," he said. "I think I was about to break something."

"How did you fit in there?" Harper demanded. Murphy smirked.

"Wouldn't you like to know."

"We gotta find Mama and Monty!" Iko said. "Come on!"

Murphy had his suspicions as to where Emori would be hiding, but Iko grabbed his hand and dragged him along, singing one of the Trigedaslang songs Echo had taught her. Murphy didn't catch all the words (he'd given up on learning the stupid language almost a year ago) but he was pretty sure it was a song about the snow.

"Dada, do you know what else I wanna do when we get to Earth?" Iko said, stopping in the middle of the hallway. The group of adults behind Murphy all had to stumble to a stop to avoid falling over like bowling pins. 

"What, Starstuff?"

"I wanna play in the snow. Echo says it's cold but really soft!"

"I wouldn't know," Murphy said. "I never got to see it either. Maybe we can build a snowman."

"Yeah!" Iko said, skipping on. "A whole snow family!"

They found Monty hiding in his and Harper's apartment, cleverly tucked between the couch and the wall.

"That just leaves Mama," Iko said. She sat down on the floor, clearly thinking. She looked up at Murphy, an idea springing to life behind her eyes. "We haven't checked the farm yet!"

She jumped up and grabbed his hand, dragging him along as she ran towards the farm. Murphy laughed a little, vaguely aware of the others jogging behind them. He'd suspected that Emori was in the farm. He remembered the farm in the bunker and how she'd volunteered to work there as soon as she could. He remembered joining her there, among the plants, and listening to her waxing poetic about tomatoes that had been neglected for a century but still managed to survive. He barely remembered the taste of tomato on her tongue and how it had been safe and warm. It would be no surprise if she was hiding in the farm. That had been the first time they'd ever felt safe.

They were all hit with a blast of warm air when the door slid open. Iko ran in, pulling Murphy along with her. They walked along among the algae, Iko humming "You Are My Sunshine" and peering under and around everything.

"Mama!"

Emori was standing by the window, her arms wrapped around herself as she stared down at Earth. Iko ran up to her and tugged on her sleeve.

"Mama, I found you!" she giggled. Emori looked down at Iko and smiled, picking her up. 

"You did. Am I the last one?"

"Yup," Iko said, popping the p. "Dada was in a cabinet!"

Emori raised her eyebrows, glancing over at Murphy. He shrugged. The rest of the adults dissipated, Raven muttering something about the rocket, Bellamy muttering something about the radio, Echo leaving as silently as ever, and Monty and Harper saying something about helping Raven. Murphy walked up next to Emori. Iko reached out and he lifted her out of Emori's arms, setting her on his shoulders. She slid her hands into his hair.

"Dada, can I cut your hair this time?"

"Maybe," he said. Emori snorted, though her eyes were distant.

"I was just thinking about the bunker," she said quietly after a minute. "Do you remember the farm?"

"The tomatoes," Murphy said. "They would have made a good spaghetti sauce."

Emori laughed a little.

"I kept thinking that we almost made it," she said. "We were almost safe."

Murphy slid one arm around her waist protectively, his other hand hanging onto Iko's ankle. She had started to braid little sections of his hair, humming a song he couldn't identify.

"Iko might have grown up there," Emori said softly. "She might have had real food. Real teachers. Maybe even real friends."

Murphy said nothing to that, just stared down at Earth. Emori was right. Iko could have grown up in the bunker. She could have been safe there. They could have raised her somewhere that wasn't in danger of being hit by meteors. Somewhere where she would know more than seven people. Somewhere where she didn't have to ask him if they were in the stars because they would already be on Earth.

"Mama," Iko said, tugging on Murphy's hair. "Dada and I are gonna make snowpeople when we get to Earth."

Emori laughed, looking up at Iko.

"Is that right?"

"Mm-hm. Echo's gonna help us too cause she already knows lots about snow."

Emori laughed again, the sound melting away some of the heaviness that had settled in Murphy's chest. So Iko hadn't grown up in the bunker. At least she would grow up loved.

* * *

**266 weeks in space**

"Six months to go and we still haven't managed to contact Clarke," Bellamy said, pacing back and forth in front of the radio. "So what are we doing wrong?"

"You're going to wear a groove in the floor," Murphy said, his feet up on the control panel. Iko giggled from his lap and Bellamy stopped pacing. 

"If you have so much to say, why don't you throw out some ideas?" Bellamy said.

"Oh, no, I'm not an 'ideas' guy. I'm a full-time dad and part-time sarcasm provider. I charge on an hourly basis."

Bellamy threw up his hands and resumed his pacing. 

"Do you ever shut up?" Raven asked Murphy. "Not an insult, I'm just genuinely curious."

"Not if I can help it," Murphy replied. "Iko, you want to try the radio again?"

"Yeah!" Iko climbed up his legs, balancing on his knees to grab the handset. "This is Iko from the Ark. Clarke? Are you there?"

Static.

"She's probably busy," Iko said, setting the handset down and climbing back to Murphy's lap. She yawned, resting her head on his chest. Murphy chuckled softly.

"Let's get you to bed."

"I'm not tired," Iko said through another yawn. "I can stay up and help with the radio more!"

"Bed," Murphy said, picking her up. "Radio tomorrow. Mama will strangle me if I let you stay up late again."

"Goodnight, Iko," Bellamy said. "Sweet dreams."

"Night, Bellamy," Iko said. "I bet Clarke will hear us in the morning."

Murphy carried her back to their apartment. Emori was already asleep, her hair lying around her head in a halo on the pillow. Murphy tucked Iko into bed and crawled in next to Emori, pulling her into his chest. She stirred a little.

"How was the radio?"

"Same as always," Murphy yawned. "How was the farm?"

"Same as always." She turned her head into the pillow. "I love you."

"Love you too."

* * *

**270 weeks in space**

"Iko, I need you to sit still."

Iko finally stilled, allowing Raven just enough time to adjust the seat straps before she started squirming again. Raven sighed, stepping back to admire her handiwork.

"She needs to stop growing," she said to Emori. "I keep having to readjust the seat."

Emori laughed.

"I'm surprised she's grown this much with the lack of nutrients up here," Raven continued. "Though with the seeds Monty found our diet has been getting better over the last few years."

Iko unbuckled the harness and jumped down into Emori's arms.

"Mama, can I go back home?" she asked. "Dada said he was gonna teach me how to read!"

Emori nodded, a lump stuck in her throat. Iko climbed out of the rocket and Emori listened as her footsteps sprinted away until they faded. Raven turned to one of the control panels and started fiddling with something.

"I gotta say," she said. "I was a little surprised by Murphy. He's really stepped up to be a dad. Six years ago I wouldn't have thought that was possible coming from him."

"None of you ever thought much of John," Emori said lightly, though there was still an undercurrent of bitterness. She sighed, sitting down in one of the seats. Raven glanced over her shoulder at her.

"What's wrong?"

"John taught me how to read," Emori said. "When I was pre-pregn-"

"Pregnant?"

"That's the word. He taught me how to read when I was pregnant with Iko and now he's teaching Iko how to read. It's just... John knows so much more than me. How am I supposed to teach Iko when I know nothing myself?"

"You know lots of things," Raven said. "You saved Murphy's life on the ground. Saved my life."

"On the ground," Emori said. "Nothing I know helps me up here."

"I'm pretty sure one of you taught Iko how to pick pockets."

Emori smiled.

"John started that. I... fine-tuned her skill."

Raven snorted.

"Might've had this rocket done last year if I didn't have Iko pulling wrenches out of my pockets every other day."

Emori laughed. Raven set a hand on her shoulder.

"You're doing your best," she said. "That's all any of us can do up here. I know you and Murphy love that kid more than anything in the world. The rest of us love her too. You're not perfect, none of us are. But at least you're trying."

Emori nodded, the lump in her throat shrinking a little. 

"I'm going home," she said. Raven smiled, turning back to the control panel.

"While you're there, ask Iko if she's seen my monkey wrench, I seem to have 'misplaced' it."

Emori laughed again, climbing out of the rocket and heading home. She could hear Iko halfway down the hall, reading aloud from the storybook.

"Th-th-the M-moun-tain Men."

"Good," John's voice said. "Okay. Which letter is this?"

"A."

"That's right. What sound does A make by itself?"

"Hmm...... 'uh'?"

"Close enough."

Emori leaned against the doorway, watching them. John had the storybook open in his lap and was pointing to each word as he carefully sounded it out. Iko was leaning over the book, her hands balancing on John's leg while she frowned at the words on the page. She beamed after a minute, pointing to something.

"That's Clarke's name!" she said excitedly. John smiled, his expression soft in the way it was only when he was looking at Iko or Emori.

"That is Clarke's name. And there's Mama's."

"EE-mur-ee."

"Not quite," John laughed. "Here, look- em-or-ee."

"Em-or-ee."

John's smile could've lit up the entire Ark.

"That's it, Starstuff."

"Next she needs to find your name," Emori said, stepping into the apartment. Iko and John looked up, both smiling. Emori sat down next to John, tucking herself into his side, and peered at the book, reading along with Iko. Raven was right. It wasn't perfect, but at least they were trying.

* * *

**278 weeks in space**

Emori wrapped her hands around the restraints. Murphy set his hand over hers, remembering the first time he'd made the trip between the Ark and Earth. There had been more people on that ship. 

Iko was bouncing up and down in her seat, singing one of the songs Echo had taught her. Murphy couldn't catch any of the words, but he didn't care much. They were going home.

"Buckle up, assholes," Raven said, dropping into her seat. "We're going to Earth."

Murphy wiggled his eyebrows at Iko, but she didn't seem to notice, still singing. The rocket shuddered and Murphy's stomach dropped. Something didn't feel right. 

"Raven-"

They were hurtling towards the Earth, but it was too fast, it was all too fast, it was like the first time, the landing was going to be too rough, too hard-

He hit his head when they landed and blood dripped down his face. He blinked through the pain, gritting his teeth and clutching Emori's hand.

"Iko."

"Dada, Mama won't wake up."

Murphy's heart sank into his shoes. He turned to Emori, slumped in her seat. He shook her, tears pouring down his face but she didn't wake up, she didn't respond, she was too pale, too cold, too quiet-

"John!"

He sat up, gasping for breath. Emori's hands were on his face, her voice asking, "John, what's wrong?" He swallowed and wrapped his arms around her, crushing her to his chest and shaking with shuddering sobs. She didn't say anything but seemed to understand, putting her arms around his neck and murmuring, "I'm here, I'm here."

He buried his face in her neck, trying to banish the memory of her face in his hands, cold and silent and unbearably still. Emori's hands slid into his hair and she said softly, "It's okay."

It was only a few more months until the real launch. Only a few more months until they went back to Earth for real. They would be back on the ground soon enough. 

"Dada?" 

"Iko," Murphy murmured. The bed creaked as she climbed in, Lala the doll clutched tightly in her hands. She squeezed between her parents, hugging Murphy around the waist.

"Did you have a bad dream?" she asked, her voice muffled. Murphy choked on a laugh. "Bad dream" didn't even begin to cover it. It was his worst fear manifested before his eyes.

"Yeah, Starstuff."

"Mama and I will fight off the bad dream. Echo says they're just mean spirits. We can punch them in the face."

Emori laughed and Murphy pulled both of them tighter. He wasn't going to lose them. Not ever.

* * *

**289 weeks in space**

Emori was wandering the halls of the Ark, her arms wrapped around herself, when she heard Bellamy's voice. She walked towards it out of curiosity. It was the middle of the night. What was he doing up?

"Anyways, I know you can't hear this, but we're coming down. Five days until launch. Just five more days and then we'll be there with you. I'm sorry it's taken us so long."

Emori pushed open the door to Earth Monitoring just as Bellamy put down the radio handset. 

"Calling Clarke?" she asked. Bellamy jerked out of his seat, one hand going to his hair awkwardly. 

"Yeah," he finally said. "Just... telling her we'll be there soon."

Emori tilted her head, studying him. The dark circles under his eyes and stubble he'd allowed to grow. Messy hair and dull eyes. 

"You look like hell," she said bluntly. "Why are you even up this late?"

"I could ask the same of you," he said, as if Emori wouldn't notice him dodging the question. She shrugged.

"Couldn't sleep. How many nights have you done this?"

Bellamy didn't answer that question, one hand combing his hair back. That was enough of an answer for Emori. 

"You should go back to bed," she said. "Raven will have us all working to the bone tomorrow."

"Yes, mom," Bellamy said, rolling his eyes, but there was an undercurrent of gratitude to it. Emori smiled a little. "You're going back to bed too, right?"

"Yes, mom," Emori replied, turning and heading back home. John was still asleep, one arm resting over his stomach. Emori stopped at the foot of the bed, watching him breathe for a moment. He looked like a child when he was asleep, his face soft and peaceful, his hair flopping in his eyes. She crawled in next to him, pulling his arm over her waist. He murmured something in his sleep and automatically pulled her closer, burying his face in her hair. She smiled and shut her eyes. 

Five more days.

* * *

**290 weeks in space**

"Buckle up, assholes," Raven said, plopping into her seat. Murphy grabbed Emori's hand in one of his and Iko's in the other. "We're going to Earth."

"Earth Earth Earth!" Iko cried, bouncing excitedly in her seat. Murphy smiled.

"Say goodbye to the Ark," he said. 

"Bye!" Iko said, waving at the top of the rocket. "We're going to Earth!"

Laughter filled the inside of the rocket. Raven smiled, saying to Iko, "You want to count down for me?"

"Yes!"

Murphy squeezed Emori's hand. 

"Five!"

_Dada, are we in the stars?_

"Four!"

_No, we're not._

"Uh, three!"

_We're in between Earth and the stars._

"Two!"

_We get to pick which one we want to be with._

"One!"

_I wanna go to Earth._

"Blastoff!"

The rocket shuddered and Murphy shut his eyes, trying to imagine the ground after six years. He wondered if the cave was still there. Was it in the Green? 

Iko cried when they broke through the atmosphere, the pressure leading her to press her hands over her ears. Murphy hung onto her with one hand, his nightmares flashing through his mind. Remembering the two kids that died the first time they went to the ground.  _Not Iko. Not Iko._

Before long, it was over. The impact jarred Murphy to his bones, but it wasn't painful. Iko stopped crying and Murphy put his hand on her cheek.

"You okay, Starstuff?"

She looked at him with wide eyes.

"Are we on Earth?"

He laughed a little, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Yeah, Starstuff. We're on Earth."

Emori let out a broken laugh and Murphy leaned his head against the wall of the rocket. They'd made it. They'd made it to Earth. 

"We landed right where we wanted to," Raven said, her smile bigger than Murphy had ever seen it. "The door's even on the right side of the rocket."

Bellamy was first out of his seat, pushing the door open. Murphy unbuckled his harness and helped Iko with hers. She peered up at the door and Murphy lifted her up. Bellamy's hands appeared and he passed Iko to him, climbing out right after. 

Iko was staring at the trees, her mouth open and eyes wide with wonder. Murphy inhaled the clean, fresh air and grinned, his cheeks feeling like they'd split. 

"Dada, look!" Iko said, turning to him with a smile that could outshine the sun. Murphy's heart expanded in his chest and he grabbed her up, twirling her around. She laughed and he pulled her in for a tight hug. 

"We made it," he said. He laughed. "We made it!"

Emori walked up behind the two of them, her hands pressed to her mouth.

"We made it," she repeated. Murphy set Iko down and wrapped his arms around Emori. She laughed with him, her fingers digging into his back. 

"We made it!" Iko shouted, running in circles around her parents. Murphy looked around. The colors were just as bright as he remembered, more shades of green than he could name in a lifetime. The sky was pale blue, a few fluffy white clouds breaking the expanse. The smells all hit his nose at once - dirt and leaves and  _everything_. It was intoxicating.

Murphy finally let go of Emori and scooped up Iko. 

"Let's get your backpack from the rocket," he said. "Maybe when we run into Clarke she'll put pictures in your storybook."

Iko brightened and they went back to the rocket, getting her backpack. Murphy buckled it on and they went over to where Raven and Bellamy were arguing over which way to go.

"Clarke's last message said she was hiding from the Elegius ship, whatever that is," Bellamy said. "This is an area we knew when we were here the first time."

Murphy glanced around. Something about the place did seem familiar. 

"Wait," he said. He squinted around. The trees were different, yes, but the rock formations were familiar. His hand found Emori's. 

"The cave," he said. "It's close."

Emori's eyes widened and she whipped around, studying the landscape.

"The trees," she said. "I might be able to find it."

"Find what?" Raven asked. 

"We used to hide out in a cave when we were still robbing people on the road," Murphy said. "We think it's close. It's well-hidden. If Clarke's hiding somewhere, that would be a good place to check."

Bellamy nodded.

"We'll start there," he said. "What should we do with the rocket?"

"Get everything we need," Raven said. "Anything we can carry. Once we find Clarke, we can use the rover to get the rest."

Murphy and Emori each took a backpack and led the group. Iko held Emori's right hand and Murphy's left, occasionally swinging between them and laughing joyously every time she did. Murphy's smile didn't feel like it would ever fade. Iko kept asking questions about everything she saw, fascinated by even the most (in Murphy's eyes) mundane things.

"Dada, what's that?"

"That's an oak tree."

"Oohh, what's that?"

"Those are wild roses."

"What's  _that?"_

"That's... deer droppings."

"What're deer droppings?"

Raven smothered a laugh with her knuckles and Murphy coughed. Emori reached over and smacked his arm insistently. 

"There it is, John!" she said, laughing a little. "Right up there!"

Murphy squinted. She was right. It looked almost the same, with the exception of a small sapling growing right in the entrance. Iko looked up at Emori.

"Mama, what's that?"

"That's a cave," Emori said. "It used to be where Dada and I lived."

"I wanna live in it!"

Murphy let go of Iko's hand to go in first. He crept towards the entrance of the cave, pushing the vines hanging over the mouth out of the way. There didn't seem to be any light in the cave, and he was about to say that they should check somewhere else when suddenly he heard, "Not another move!"

A young girl burst out of the cave, maybe eleven or twelve, with a knife in the one hand. Murphy put his hands up in a placating gesture. 

"Hello," he said. "What's your name?"

"Clarke!" the girl shouted. 

_We found her._

"We're friends of Clarke's," Murphy explained. The next thing he knew, he was staring down the barrel of a rifle. He heard someone suck in a sharp breath behind him but didn't turn to check who it was. The rifle moved forward and he moved backwards, away from the mouth of the cave. A young woman stepped out, cropped blonde hair with a red streak in the front and piercing blue eyes. Clarke frowned, lowering the rifle a little.

"Murphy?"

"Clarke," Bellamy's voice said, barely above a whisper.

Clarke's eyes widened as she looked past Murphy. She dropped her rifle.

"Bellamy."

Murphy stepped out of the way as Clarke ran to Bellamy and threw her arms around his neck, sobbing something that vaguely sounded like, "I thought you were all dead, I was so afraid you were all dead."

Bellamy clung to Clarke, his face buried in her neck. Murphy stepped back another step and his hand found Emori's. Iko tugged on his pant leg.

"Is that Clarke?" she whispered. Murphy laughed a little.

"Yeah, that's Clarke."

Clarke and Bellamy finally broke apart and Clarke hugged Raven, Monty, and Harper. She smiled at Echo and then turned to Murphy and Emori. Iko hid behind her parent's legs, suddenly shy. Clarke's eyes dropped to the little hand clinging to Murphy's jacket and her expression morphed into something unreadable.

"Iko," Emori said softly. "Come say hi to Clarke."

Iko peered around Emori's legs and waved shyly at Clarke. 

"Hi," she said. Clarke's mouth dropped open and she looked up at Murphy. He almost laughed.

"She was born eight and half months after we made it to space," he said. "She's about five and a half."

"Hi," Clarke said. She looked between Emori and Murphy again, then back at Iko. Iko seemed to gain some confidence and stepped out from behind her parents (though she grabbed Murphy's hand). She pulled the storybook out of her backpack and held it out to Clarke.

"Would you put pictures in my book?" she asked. "Bellamy says you're a really good draw-er. He even left space for them!"

Clarke's eyebrows shot up and she glanced at Bellamy, who developed a sudden interest in dirt. Clarke finally managed to pick her jaw up off the ground and crouched down, taking the book from Iko with a smile.

"Sure, I'll put pictures in your book."

Iko grinned.

"Thanks, Clarke!"

"She knows who I am," Clarke said. 

"Well, yeah," Murphy said. "We all got your messages. Iko helped try to contact you."

Clarke's eyes widened.

"That time I thought I heard something. That was-"

"There's a lot to explain," Bellamy said. "The rocket's not far from here. Do you have the rover?"

"Yeah. Maddie?"

The girl Murphy had been confronted by stepped out of the cave, eyeing the eight people suspiciously. 

"Maddie, can you go get the rover started up?"

"Yeah," Maddie said. She climbed up to the top of the cave and disappeared. Clarke gestured towards the cave entrance. 

"Come on in," she said. "Welcome to my humble home."

"Technically, we lived here first," Murphy said. Emori rolled her eyes and Clarke ignored the comment. Iko tugged on Murphy's sleeve.

"Dada?" 

"What is it, Starstuff?"

"Are we gonna stay on Earth?"

"Yeah, we are. We're going to stay on Earth forever."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm ugly sobbing none of this is canon
> 
> half of this was already torn apart by sdcc but catch me not giving a fuck


End file.
